Fingerprint checking helps catch out asylum seekers

Fingerprint checks on a European-wide system have revealed that more than one in 10 asylum seekers in Ireland has already claimed refugee status elsewhere in the EU.

Staff from the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (Orac) have tightened their scrutiny of asylum claims and are looking for tell-tale signs from application forms that the would-be refugees have already tried elsewhere.

This is being backed up by greater use of the Eurodac fingerprinting system.
The authorities here sent 3,840 sets of prints to the Eurodac, according to ORAC's annual report, published yesterday.

The returns confirmed 468 "hits", which meant that, under the Dublin II Regulation, the applications must be determined by the country where the claims were first lodged.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/fingerprint-checking-helps-catch-out-asylum-seekers-1419970.html